Russell "Sox" Walseth (April 6, 1926 – January 28, 2004) was an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach, best known for his tenures as both the men's and women's head coach at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. Walseth was born in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen ( Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous ci ...

and an all-state basketball player at Pierre High School, graduating in 1944. He joined the U. S. Navy, and was ultimately moved to Colorado where he attended the University of Colorado and was a member of the basketball and baseball teams. Following his graduation, he stayed at Colorado to earn a master's degree and coach the freshman team. He then moved on to coach Arvin High School in

Arvin, California Arvin is a city in Kern County, California. Arvin is located southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,304, up from 12,956 at the 2000 census. In 2007, the United States Environmental Prot ...

for the 1953–54 season. Walseth moved to the college ranks the following season as he was named head coach at

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

. He led the Jackrabbits to a significant improvement, as he compiled records of 14–11, then 17–7 in his two seasons. In the 1955–56 season he led the team to the

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

championship and a berth in the 1956 NAIA Tournament. This performance helped Walseth earn the Colorado head coaching job when his former mentor Bebe Lee was named

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

at Kansas State University. Walseth coached the Buffaloes for twenty seasons, compiling a 261–245 record. His teams won three Big Eight Conference championships (in 1962, 1963 and 1969) and won the league's Coach of the Year award four times (1962, 1963, 1969 and 1973). Under his watch, Ken Charlton and

Cliff Meely Cliff Meely (July 10, 1947 – May 29, 2013) was an American basketball player who played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, then at the Universi ...

earned All-American honors. Walseth was relieved of his duties following the 1975–76 season, but was coaxed out of retirement in 1980 to oversee the Buffaloes' women's team for three seasons, compiling a record of 77–21. He was the first person to coach both men's and women's basketball at the same school. Walseth died at his home in Boulder, Colorado on January 28, 2004 at the age of 77.

References

External links

Colorado Buffaloes Athletic HOF profileSouth Dakota Sports HOF profileColorado Sports HOF profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walseth, Sox 1926 births 2004 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from South Dakota Basketball players from South Dakota Carroll College (Montana) alumni College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Colorado Buffaloes baseball players Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball coaches Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Aberdeen, South Dakota South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball)